50) The Gate

While I was busy cleaning houses Jonny was doing any kind of engineering jobs from home that he could get. One interesting job that he got was to build a gate. We were told of a couple that wanted to fence off the back section of their yard to keep their dogs in. We called on them and discussed what kind of gate they wanted. The house was a large brick double storey home and the customers said they wanted the gate to suit the house; it needed to be big and very solid looking. The only problem was that the dogs that he wanted to keep in were a pair of tiny Chihuahuas, very noisy, very lively, but small enough to get through many ready made gates. Jonny made rough drawings of the kind of gate that he thought was required and we once again called on the customer. At first he was not very happy with the drawings, he could not visualize what the finished gate would look like. Once Jonny showed him the type of material that he intended to use he was much happier. Now he was sure that it would match his house, big and solid. But he was still worried that his little dogs would be able to get through the bars. Jonny just picked up one of the dogs put it on his lap and measured across it’s skull and assured the customer that the space between the bars would be smaller that the top of his pets’ heads so there would be no way for them to escape.

As the work on the gate progressed I was very concerned, it was so big and so solid looking. I was sure that when the customer saw it he would hate it. Jonny kept assuring me that was what he wanted but I knew that he had a problem visualising what it would look like when it was finished and I thought that once he saw it he would not like it. He was such a good customer (once he had made up his mind), paying his deposit promptly and I did not want him to be disappointed.

As I was working the day that Jonny had arranged to erect the fence and gate I did not go with him but he had two men from our church to assist him and when he came home he said that the customer was overjoyed with his gate. I was very relieved that it had gone well. A few days later Jonny and I went back to the site to remove the bracing that he had used to keep the gate steady until the concrete had hardened. There were the little dogs behind the fence, unable to get out and there was the customer still beaming about his new gate. I was surprised to see that he had been exactly right, the fence and gate suited the house perfectly and it looked great. He said to us “do you know why I like it so much? Its because it looks homemade, there is not another one like this anywhere” I realised that he meant that it looked custom made, made just for him but homemade sounded as if it had been knocked up in someone’s back yard by someone who did not know what they were doing, obviously this was not what he meant.

There is of course a limit to the work that Jonny can take on in his little workshop, at the moment he is busy refurbishing a trailer. He has a few regular customers who bring all their engineering jobs to him. Recently he manufactured some protectors for microphones for a company that measures sound in industry. That was a particularly awkward job but as Jonny is very determined (I call it stubborn) he got it right eventually. He works pretty steadily and is pleased to be able to stay at home and not to have to work in a factory where he would have to clock in and out each day so he is happy with his business.